Cancer has been recognized as one of the deadliest diseases in the world in recent years. By chemically tailoring specific properties, anticancer agents can be prepared very effectively for the treatment of various cancer types. In this manner, as anticancer agents, a series of soluble metal-free and metallophthalocyanines carrying cinnamyloxy-groups at peripheral β-positions have been prepared. All synthesized phthalocyanines were characterized by various spectroscopic approaches such as ultraviolet - visible (UV - Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and matrix-assisted laser deionization/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS) techniques. These compounds are highly soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and soluble in common organic solvents. The spectroscopic properties, cytotoxicity, and theoretical calculations of these complexes have been investigated. In cytotoxicity tests, compounds 1, 4, and 7 are the most active against HT-29 cell lines with IC50 values of 36.9 μM, 32.5 μM, and 51.1 μM, respectively. Also, the most and the least cytotoxic compounds against healthy CCD cell line is compounds 5 and 6 with the IC50 value of 13.4 μM and >250 μM, respectively. The PDB ID:4BQG target protein representing the HT-29 cancer cell line and the anti-cancer activities of phthalonitrile and its phthalocyanines were supported by molecular docking studies. Density Functional Theory (DFT) study supported the experimental results, including the spectral data, and implied that the compounds 5-7 are comparable by their characteristics, such as electronic properties, optical properties, electrostatic potentials, reactivity parameters, with the earlier studied compounds 2-4, which were successfully proved to be good candidates for cancer treatment.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
Keywords: Phthalocyanine; anticancer agents; cytotoxicity; in silico molecular docking; theoretical.